De Bruyne returns to Manchester City training

Kevin De Bruyne returned to Manchester City training on Monday as the Belgian midfielder looks to step up his recovery from a knee injury.

De Bruyne was ruled out for three months when he suffered damage to his lateral collateral ligament in August, but is hopeful of returning to action ahead of the Manchester derby on Nov. 11.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola indicated on Friday that De Bruyne would return to training this week.

“He’s making the last steps, starting training in part in the next days — part of the training session with us. So everything is going well,” Guardiola said, ahead of City’s 2-0 win over Brighton on Saturday.

De Bruyne has only made one appearance for City this season, in the Premier League champions’ opening-day win at Arsenal.

In his absence City have won all but two games, a Premier League draw to promoted Wolves and a Champions League defeat to Lyon.

City are away at Hoffenheim in the Champions League on Tuesday before travelling to Liverpool on Sunday.